Belted terminal crimping tool



ne 5, 196 M. L. KLINGLER ETAL 3,

BELTED TERMINAL CRIMPING TOOL Filed April 10, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 HINVENTORS flamuv L. \kumeua' wuuam R. Ovee.

June 1962 M. 1.. KLINGLER ETAL 3,037,545

BELTED TERMINAL CRIMPING TOOL 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 10, 1959 m mE V W.

(mum L-KLINGLER BY UILLJHH R- VER June 5, 1962 M. KLINGLER ETAL 5 BELTEDTERMINAL CRIMPING TOOL 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 10, 1959 Namm LKumsua BY WiLUAM R. OVER United States Patent ()fitice 3,037,545Patented June 5, 1962 3,037,545 BELTED TERMINAL (IRE [PING TOOL MartinL. Klingler, Hershey, and Wiiliam R. fiver, Union Deposit, Pa.,assignors to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa.

Filed Apr. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 805,433 7 Claims. (Cl. 153-1) Thisinvention relates to crimping tools for electrical terminals andconnectors wherein the terminals are supplied by means of a carrier suchas a substantially endless strip or belt.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved crimpingapparatus having a feeding means for intermittently feeding a relativelyflexible belt upon which terminals are removably secured at periodicintervals. A further object is to provide a crimping apparatus havingautomatic terminal feeding means for strip or belt form terminals whichis not dependent upon the physical properties, such as stiffness, of thebelt or strip for successful operation.

These and other objects are attained in a preferred embodimentcomprising a pair of crimping dies movable rel atively towards and awayfrom each other and a feeding means comprising an intermittently movablesurface which is adjacent the crimping dies and movable in timedsequence therewith. In the preferred embodiment, the movable surfacecomprises a dial having sprocket teeth thereon which engage perforationsof the terminal carrying belt. A substantial portion of the length ofthe belt is supported on this surface of the dial and the accuracy andprecision of the feeding operation depends not upon the movement of thebelt over a stationary surface (as with prior art devices) but ratherupon the indexing of the dial. Such indexing is achieved in thedescribed embodiment herein by mean of a spring which is resilientlyloaded during movement of the dies and which is connected to the dial ina manner such that it causes the dial to index after the completion ofthe crimping stroke.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the head of a tool in accordance with theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but looking from the oppositeside and showing parts of the tool head in cross section;

FIGURE 3 is a frontal view of the preferred embodiment;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view showing the tool and the magazine whichsupplies the terminals in belt form to the tool;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view showing the indexing spring and itsrelationship to the dial; and

FIGURES 6, 7, 8 and 9 are fragmentary views showing the sequence ofoperations during indexing of the dial feed for the tool; in theinterest of clarity, these views do not show the piston rod.

In the disclosed embodiment the tool is operated by means of a hydrauliccylinder 2;, which also functions as a handle and tool body, having apiston rod 4- reciprocable therein and a spring 6 which surrounds thepiston rod and normally biases the piston (not shown) downwardly asviewed in the drawing. It will be understood that any conventionalcontrol means can be provided for the pistoncylinder or that amechanical force system can be substituted for the hydraulic systemshown. Integral with the upper portion of cylinder 2 is a G-shaped toolhead 8 having a reinforcing rib 10 in its external surface and having adie holder plate 12 secured to its end. Upper crimping dies 14, 16 aresecured to this die holder plate by means of a clamping plate 17 and ascrew 18 which extends through aligned openings in the dies and into athreaded opening in the clamping plate. An L-shaped I until they arecrimped onto wire ends after which they.

lower die holder 26 is secured to the end of piston rod 4 by means of apin 22 which extends from the underside of die holder 2% into a recessin the end of the piston rod and is locked in place by means of a setscrew as shown. Advantageously, a plate 21 is fastened to the side ofthe lower die holder and bears against a flat milled surface 23 on thecylinder in order to prevent rotation of the piston rod and to maintainthe crimping dies in exact alignment. The lower dies 24, 25 areremovably anchored to this die holder by means of a screw 26. It willthus be apparent that upon movement of the piston rod the lower diesmove relatively towards, and into engagement with, the upper dies untilthe terminal positioned between the dies is crimped onto a wire.

The feeding mechanism for feeding the belt of terminals is carried by amounting plate or base plate 28 which rests against the back of theC-shaped head and is secured in place by means of flanges Z9 and screwswhich enter the tool head. This base plate has a central bearing boss 30which extends towards the front of the tool and on this boss there isrotatably supported a feed dial which is composed of a circular plate32, a sprocket wheel 34 having sprocket teeth 36 evenly spaced aroundits periphery, and a ratchet wheel 38 having teeth 40 projectingparallel to its axis towards the front of the tool. In the disclosedembodiment the number of teeth 49 on the ratchet wheel 33 is equal tothe number of sprocket teeth 36 for reasons which will be apparent fromthe description which follows. The sprocket wheel, ratchet wheel, andplate 32 are secured together by means of rivets 42 so that they move asa unit during operation.

Bearing boss 3% is centrally bored and rotatably accommodates a stubshaft 44 which extends from a circular cam plate 46 which is of adiameter slightly less than the diameter of the dial. This cam plate hasan ear 48 extending therefrom and is notched adjacent the car as shownat St and 52.. The two edges of the notch do not intersect at a rightangle but a recess 53 is provided at the root of the notch.

A pin 54 is secured in ear 4S and extends inwardly towards the surfaceof the cam plate. This pin has a bell crank (FIGURE 5) rotatably mountedthereon, one arm 56 of which functions as a pawl having a tooth 57 onits end for engaging between the teeth 40 of the ratchet wheel as shownin FIGURE 6. As shown in FIGURE 4 this tooth is on a separate platewhich is secured to the end of arm 56 by a fastener. The other arm 58 ofthe bell crank extends inwardly towards the axis of rotation of the camplate and has a pin 60 on its end around which is hooked one end of aspiral spring 62,. This spring surrounds bearing boss 36 and has itsinner end 64 anchored in a transverse slot in the boss. Arm 58 of thebell crank is not a regular shape but provides an extension 66 (FIGURE6) which projects beyond edge 50 of the notch and is adapted to beengaged by a pin 68 which is integral with lower die holder 20.

In order to lock the ratchet wheel and the dial in position during aportion of the cycle there is provided a locking detent comprising alever 72 (FIGURE 2) pivotally mounted at 74- to the tool head and havinga laterally extending arm 7 6 upon the end of which there is provided atooth 76 also adapted to enter between the teeth 46 of the ratchet wheel38. Normally, and when the dies are apart, arm is depressed by pin 68,as shown best in FIGURE 2, and this arm is held out of engagement withthe ratchet wheel and against the force of a compression coil spring 78.

The belt of terminals shown in the illustrative embodiment comprises alower strip 86 of plastic material and an upper strip 33. These twostrips hold the terminals may be removed by the operator. This beltingis fed to the tool from a cylindrical magazine 84 mounted on a bracket86 which is secured to and extends from the hydraulic cylinder 2. In thedisclosed embodiment, the coil of belting is merely placed in themagazine 34 and pulled therefrom during feeding of the belt by the tool.It is not necessary to mount the belting on a rotatable axis as isfrequently required with continuous metallic strip. The belting, asshown best in FIGURE 4, extends from the magazine towards the dial andwith its rearward edge against mounting plate 23. In order to hold thebelting against the dial there are provided a pair of fingers 88a, 885which are biased by means of a spring W. on a pin 90 towards the surfaceof the dial. These fingers are provided with grooves 89 to permitpassage of the teeth 36 of the sprocket during feeding. It is alsodesirable to provide a small coil spring 94 in order to retain thatsection of the belt which extends between the fingers against thesurface of the dial.

In operation, and assuming that the parts are as shown in FIGURES l and2 with an uncrimped terminal positioned between the dies, the operatorfirst inserts the stripped end of a wire into the terminal barrel andthen actuates the hydraulic system to drive the piston rod 4 upwardly.As this piston rod rises, pin 68 is first disengaged from lever arm 79thereby permitting the tooth '76 on the end of this arm to enter betweenthe teeth of the ratchet wheel at the bottom of the dial and lock thedial against rotation. Shortly thereafter, pin 68 engages bell crank armportion 66 and causes the bell crank to rotate in a counterclockwisedirection about its pivotal axis 54. The tooth 57 on arm 56 isdisengaged from the ratchet wheel as shown in FIGURE 7 and the cam plateis therefore free to move the remainder of the up stroke of the pistonrod. During the remainder of the stroke, pin 68 rotates the cam platefrom the position of FIGURE 7 to the position of FIGURE 9 as the pinmoves relatively along edge 50 of the cam plate notch. The tooth 57rides over the adjacent ratchet wheel tooth until it is aligned with thenext recess on the ratchet wheel which it enters under the influence ofspring 62. It will also be understood that during the interval in whichthe cam plate is rotated, spring 62 is resiliently stressed or tightenedand its overall diameter becomes smaller as shown by the drawing. By thetime the ram reaches its top position, the terminal will have beencrimped and the operator is then free to remove it from the belt as soonas the dies separate a slight distance. With a properly made belt, theterminal can be removed by a light pull.

As the ram 4 returns to its starting position the cam plate remains inits rotated position of FEGURE 9 since tooth 57 is engaged with theratchet wheel and the ratchet wheel itself is held against rotation bytooth 76 of lever arm 70. Upon disengagement of tooth 76, from theratchet wheel, when pin 63 depresses the lever arm, the cam plate andthe dial are rotated from the position of FIGURE 9 to the position ofFIGURE 6 under the influence of spiral spring 62. It will be understoodthat the spiral spring will always have some residual stress but the camplate is prevented from counter clockwise rotation beyond the positionof FIGURE 6 by pin 68 which it abuts.

It will be apparent from FIGURES 1 and 2 that when the terminal iscrimped, its ferrule portion must move upwardly by a slight amount atthe end of the crimping stroke of the ram. Such movement of the terminalis easily permitted by virtue of the flexible nature of the belt. Itwill also be apparent from these figures that the cam plate is of adiameter less than the diameter of the dial so that this cam plate doesnot interfere with the movement of the belt and terminals towards thedies. The ends of the terminals which project laterally beyond the edgesof the belt are supported only by the belt and not on the surface of thedial. The belting material is capable of supporting the terminals in themanner shown, particularly when it is curved over and pressed againstthe dial.

The notch 53 in the cam plate does not ordinarily play any part in theoperation of the tool. However, it will be apparent that if the toolwere to be accidentally actuated with no dies in the dieholders, the ram4 could move upwardly beyond its normal stopping point. If this were tohappen, pin 63 would move upwardly beyond the position shown in FIGURE 9which is its normal uppermost position and tooth 57 would tend to causethe ratchet to rotate in a clockwise direction from the position ofFIGURE 9. If the pin did arise above this position, the pin would enterthe notch and at the same time the tooth 76 on lever 70 would be cammedoutwardly by the force exerted by the ratchet wheel. This notch 53 istherefore a means of preventing damage to the tool in case of misuse.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art andvarious apparently different modifications and embodiments may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forthin the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by wayof illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended tobe defined in the following claims when viewed in their properperspective against the prior art.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals wherein said terminalsare removably secured to a flexible belt at regularly spaced intervalswith the axes of said terminals extending transversely of said belt andwith at least a substantial portion of the length of each terminalresting on said belt, said apparatus comprising, a pair of crimpingdies, moving means including a reciprocablc ram for moving said diesrelatively towards and away from each other, a cylinder disposedadjacent said dies and rotatable about an axis extending substantiallytransversely of the path of reciprocation of said ram, said cylinderhaving regularly spaced sprocket teeth for engagement with perforationsin said belt whereby said cylinder supports and engages a substantiallength of said belt, and indexing means for indexing said cylinder whensaid dies are apart thereby to position an uncrimped terminal betweensaid dies.

2. Apparatus for crimping electrical connectors onto wires wherein saidconnectors are removably secured to a flexible belt at regularly spacedintervals with the axes of said connectors extending transversely ofsaid belt, said belt having regularly spaced perforations, saidapparatus comprising, a pair of crimping dies, moving means including areciprocable rarn for moving said dies relatively towards and away fromeach other, a cylinder disposed adjacent said dies and rotatable aboutan axis extending substantially transversely of the path of reciprocation of said ram, said cylinder having regularly spaced sprocketteeth for engagement with said perforations in said belt whereby saidcylinder supports and engages a substantial length of said belt,indexing means for indexing said cylinder when said dies are apartthereby to feed said belt, and a bearing surface extending in a planeadjacent said cylinder and normally of the axis thereof on the oppositeside from said dies, said bearing surface functioning to preventmovement of said belt away from said cylinder.

3. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals Wherein said terminalsare part of a belt with the axes of the individual terminals extendingtransversely of the belt axis, said apparatus comprising, a pair ofcrimping dies, moving means including a reciprocable ram for moving saiddies relatively towards and away from each other, a cylinder disposedadjacent said dies and rotatable about an axis extending substantiallytransversely of the path of reciprocation of said ram, said cylinderhaving regularly spaced sprocket teeth for engagement with said beltwhereby said cylinder supports and engages a substantial length of saidbelt, pawl and ratchet indexing means for indexing said cylinder whensaid dies are apart thereby to position an uncrimped terminal betweensaid dies, spring loadable actuating means for actuating said pawl andratchet indexing means, and means driven by said ram during movementthereof for loading said spring loadable actuating means.

4. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals Wherein said terminalsare part of a belt with the axes of the individual terminals extendingtransversely of the belt axis, said apparatus comprising, a pair ofcrimping dies, moving means including a reciprocable ram for moving saiddies relatively towards and away from each other, a cylinder disposedadjacent said dies and rotatable about an axis extending substantiallytransversely of the path of reciprocation of said ram, said cylinderhaving regularly spaced sprocket teeth for engagement with said beltwhereby said cylinder supports and engages a substantial length of saidbelt, a plate rotatable about the axis of rotation of, and independentlyof, said cylinder, pawl and ratchet means connecting said plate and saidcylinder, loadable resilient means acting on said plate and permittingmovement of said plate in a first direction of rotation but normallybiasing said plate in the opposite direction, and means on said ram forrotating said plate in said first direction during movement of said ramto move said dies relatively towards each other whereby, said platefirst rotates in said first direction relative to said cylinder, andsaid pawl is advanced relative to said ratchet, and said plate andcylinder then rotate in unison in said opposite direction by virtue ofsaid pawl and ratchet means during return movement of said ram therebyto feed said belt.

5. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals onto the ends of wires,said terminals being on a carrier strip, said apparatus comprising, atool body having a generally 'C-shaped tool head, one arm of said headbeing integral with said tool body, a ram in said tool body reciprocabletowards and away from the other arm of said head, a first die mounted onsaid ram for movement therewith and a second die mounted on the otherarm of said head, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said head on an axisextending transversely of the direction of reciprocation of said ram,sprocket teeth on the surface of said cylinder for engagement with saidcarrier strip, a cam plate rotatable about the axis of rotation of, andindependently of, said cylinder, said cam plate being inter-posedbetween said dies and said cylinder, spring means having one end securedto said cam plate, said spring means permitting rotation of said camplate in a first direction from a rest position but normally biasingsaid cam plate for rotary movement in the opposite direction, cammingmeans on said ram and said cam plate for rotating said plate in saidfirst direction during movement of said ram towards said other arm ofsaid head, a pawl on said cam plate and ratchet teeth on said cylinder,detent means engageable with said cylinder to hold said cylinder againstrotation, and means on said ram for holding said detent means out ofengagement with said cylinder when said ram is in its retracted positionWhereby, upon movement of said ram towards said other arm, said cylinderis locked against rotation by said detent means, said cam plate isrotated in said first direction, and said pawl is advanced relative tosaid ratchet teeth, and after return movement of said ram, said cylinderis unlocked to permit rotation and said spring rotates and indexes saidcam plate and cylinder thereby to feed said carrier strip.

6. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals onto the ends of wires,said terminals being on a carrier strip, said apparatus comprising, atool body having a generally =C-shaped tool head, one arm of said headbeing integral with said tool body, a ram in said tool body reciprocabletowards and away from the other arm of said head, a first die mounted onsaid ram for movement therewith and a second die mounted on the otherarm of said head, a cylinder rotatably mounted on said head on an axisextending transversely of the direction of reciprocation of said ram,sprocket teeth on the surface of said cylinder for engagement with saidcarrier strip, a cam plate rotatable about the axis of rotation of, andindependently of, said cylinder, said cam plate being interposed betweensaid dies and said cylinder, a spiral spring having its inner end fixedand having its outer end secured to said cam plate whereby, uponrotation of said cam plate from a rest position in a first direction,said spring is stressed and tends to return said plate to said restposition, a pin on said ram and a cam surface on said cam plate, saidcam surface being engageable by said pin to rotate said plate in saidfirst direction during movement of said ram towards said other arm ofsaid head, a pawl on said cam plate cooperable with ratchet teeth onsaid cylinder, detent means engageable with said cylinder to hold saidcylinder against rotation, said pin functioning as a means for holdingsaid detent means out of engagement with said cylinder when said ram isin its retracted position whereby, upon movement of said ram towardssaid other arm, said cylinder is locked against rotation by said detentmeans, said cam plate is rotated by said pin in said first direction,and said pawl is advanced relative to said ratchet teeth, and afterreturn movement of said ram, said cylinder is unlocked by said pin topermit rotation and said spring rotates and indexes said cam plate andcylinder thereby to feed said carrier strip.

7. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals onto the ends of wires,said terminals being mounted on a carrier strip at spaced intervals,said apparatus comprising, a fixed crimping die and a movable crimpingdie, ram means for moving said movable die towards and away from saidfixed die, a cylinder rotatably mounted on an axis extendingtransversely of the direction of reciprocation of said ram, sprocketteeth on the surface of said cylinder for engagement with said carrierstrip, a cam plate rotatable about the axis of rotation of, andindependently of, said cylinder, said cam plate being interposed betweensaid dies and said cylinder, loadable resilient means permittingmovement of said plate in a first direction of rotation but normallybiasing said plate in the opposite direction, a pawl and ratchet actingbetween said plate and said cylinder, detent means engageable with saidcylinder to hold said cylinder against rotation, means on said ram forholding said detent means out of engagement with said cylinder when saidram is in its retracted position, camming means acting between said ramand said plate for rotating said plate in said first direction duringmovement of said movable die towards said fixed die, and camming meansacting between said ram and said pawl and ratchet means for disengagingsaid pawl and ratchet means during initial movement of said movable dietowards said fixed die whereby, upon movement of said movable dietowards said fixed die, said cylinder is locked against rotation, saidpawl and ratchet means is disengaged, and said plate is rotated in saidfirst direction, and after return movement of said ram, said cylinder isunlocked to permit rotation and said spring rotates and indexes saidplate and said cylinder thereby to feed said carrier.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

